Toe Kick Drawer Question

[Mark Witczak]

Hi all,

I'm trying to design a bathroom linen closet and would like to include a variation on the toe kick drawer idea. I would like to use the drawer to hide the bathroom scale. This would save a lot of floor space in a tiny room.

The concerns I have are over support and stability. Can I get slides that will support at least 300 lbs? Secondly, when the drawer is fully extended I would like to have it "lock" in place so someone can stand on the scale without it slipping back into the cabinet. It would be nice if this "locking" mechanism could be unlocked without having to bend over.

Thanks for the advice and references.

Mark

[John McGaw]

I haven't seen any drawer slides with a locking mechanism but heavy-duty slides are certainly available at a price.

[MB]

Why not just have the "drawer" slide on the floor. You could add UHMW poly runners, but I'm not sure that's even necessary. For a drawer latch get the type where you push the door, and pops the door open, then when you push again it latches closed. You'd have to rig a spring or two behind the drawer (between the back of the drawer and the wall). In use, you would push the front of the drawer with your toe, the drawer pops out a bit, then you drag the drawer fully open with you toes.

Mitch

[RicodJour]

Support at least 300 pounds? Most scales only go up to 280 or 300 pounds, but if you're in that territory I'd seriously reconsider the drawer slides idea. You need some fold down support, maybe incorporated into the drawer front, or have the scale fold down, with supporting fold out feet. It could be mounted on the closet door or inside the cabinet at the bottom.

R

[Pete C.]

Get a nice electronic scale with a wall mount remote display and build the scale into the floor. Can put matching flooring on top and just zero the scale for it.

Pete C.

[Chris Friesen]

Non locking, but they're rated to 400lbs for "frequent use", or 500lbs for "moderate use". (Although technically not rated for supporting humans.)

They're $49 for a pair of 18" slides.

Chris